


Call For a Good Time

by Mypissedoffsandwich



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Awkward Steve Rogers, Captain America Steve Rogers/Modern Bucky Barnes, M/M, Modern Bucky Barnes, Phone Sex, Phone Sex Operator Bucky Barnes, Sex Worker Bucky Barnes, Shrunkyclunks, Smut, Stucky - Freeform, possibly a meet-cute?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-24
Updated: 2018-03-17
Packaged: 2019-03-23 06:11:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13781409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mypissedoffsandwich/pseuds/Mypissedoffsandwich
Summary: Tony had probably been joking when he'd passed Steve the business card for a Phone Sex line. But Damnit, Steve was lonely and his neighbor had been driving him crazy for months.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank my two amazing artists DrowningByDegrees ([AO3](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrowningByDegrees/pseuds/DrowningByDegrees) / [Tumblr](https://drowningbydegrees-fanworks.tumblr.com/)) and Tyranttirade ([Tumblr](https://tyranttirade.tumblr.com/)) for all their hard work on these beautiful pieces of art!
> 
> I'd like to especially thank Isis, thanx for putting up with my mess Baby ;)

He was finally done unpacking. It’d been a month since he’d first leased the apartment, but between Ultron and everything that came after a disaster of that scale, this had been his first chance to actually be here. 

The apartment was large by his standards, not as large as his floor at Stark Tower had been, but still much larger than anything he’d lived in before the war. This was to be his new home. After having been told what to do and where to live in the four years since being pulled from the ice, it was nice to finally be somewhere he’d chosen. Even if it was still a bit strange, and even a bit lonely. He hadn’t really lived by himself ever, even when he lived in DC, he’d spent the majority of his time off on a mission somewhere, surrounded by SHIELD agents at all times. This would be the place he came to every night now that he’d finally hung up the suit and passed the shield to Sam in favor of training the newest recruits for the Avengers. 

Sure he wasn’t going out there, risking his life anymore, but he was doing some good, training the young adults and teenagers dealing with enhancements that many of them had developed seemingly overnight. He stood looking at the small nook off to the side of his living room, the sun warming the dark red brick wall and the dark wooden square easel that Tony and Pepper had gotten him for his last birthday. It reminded him of cold days sitting in a classroom with other students, practicing an art style Pepper had once described as ‘surrealist’, and he supposed that summed up many of the works he or his peers had created then.

A flash of movement outside his window shook him from his thoughts, his arm immediately reaching for the shield that was not there before his brain registered that the man outside fell fairly low on his scale of threats. The man outside was just smoking and wasn’t that a surprise, practically no one smoked these days.

Steve couldn’t keep himself from studying the man’s profile, he was beautiful and Steve’s hands itched to draw him in a way they hadn’t since he’d first seen Peggy that day in basic. The man’s dark hair was scraped back into a barely there ponytail, locks falling free and framing his face. He was tall, and leanly muscled, a hidden strength. His arms were exposed in a loose t-shirt that’d had its sleeves and much of the torso fabric cut from it, the image of his shield emblazoned on it barely visible with how worn the shirt looked. Tight jeans hugged the man's thighs like a second skin, showing the flex of muscles with every shift of weight. Steve squeezed his eyes shut tight at the thoughts that’d begun to filter through his mind, thoughts of bending the stranger further over the fire escape railing and fucking into him. Of feeling those lean muscles beneath his hands. 

“Fuck!” he cursed, shaking his head to dispel the thoughts. For one, he didn’t even know the guy's name. He heard a knock on the glass and snapped his head up. The smoking man looked concerned, he’d probably heard him curse. Well, he’d have to introduce himself to the neighbors eventually, might as well now. He walked quickly to the window and pushed it open.

“You alright?” the man asked, voice laced with concern.

“Uh, yeah sorry, didn’t think I was that loud,” Steve responded, looking down a bit, shifting his weight from foot to foot and rubbing his palm against the back of his neck.

“Oh, you weren’t, I was out here smoking and figured I’d check you were okay.” The man stubbed out his cigarette against the metal railing, tossing the butt of it into an old red metal Folgers can sitting against the brick between his window and the neighbors. “I’m Bucky Barnes, I live in 4A. Nice to meet you.” Bucky reached his hand forward, a smile playing at the corners of his lips.

“Uh, Steve. Steve Rogers, uh, in 4C?” Steve stumbled his words a bit, he didn’t get much chance outside of Avengers business to really meet people. 

“I know,” Bucky’s eyes parking with amusement, lips upturned at the corners with dampened mirth. “Tell ya what Steve, If you’re ever in need of a cup of sugar? You know where to find me.” He smirked before sliding back through his own window. Steve stood there watching after him a moment before sliding his own window shut.

Fuck.

+++

“On your left!” Steve called out, laughing as he once again lapped Sam as they ran through prospect park. 

“Oh no you don’t!” Sam called, speeding up a bit to try and catch up to the super soldier. He eventually slowed to a light jog and then a walk as he waited for Steve to come back around to him. It was taking much longer for Steve to come back around, so Sam assumed he’d gotten stopped again by some people wanting autographs or selfies. He shook his head, even after four years the man still didn’t know how to turn them away. He heard loud laughter as he made a turn, he looked up to see Steve talking to a tall man. Steve was beginning to blush, as he stared at the laughing man. They made quite a pair from where he stood, both were smiling as they chatted with one another.

“Well you should stop by sometime. Y’know, so I can kick your ass.” The dark haired man said, angling his body towards Steve. And when Steve shifted minutely closer he placed his hand on Steve’s bicep. Oh yeah, this guy was flirting, and Steve was unconsciously doing so back.

“I dunno Buck, I get a lot of practice these days. You might have trouble keeping up.” Even from where Sam, he could see the man’s eyes darken. Just as this ‘Buck’ guy moved closer, Sam’s phone began to beep wildly, and loud. Steve’s head snapped up to stare at him, and the dark haired guy took a step back. “What’s up, Sam?”

“Got a thing down in Florida, they want you to come with,” he glanced at the brunet “they’ve caught wind of another enhanced. Nat’s on her way now.” Sam glanced between the two men, trying to apologize for the interruption without saying anything.

“Ah, well I’ll see you when you get back Steve.” With a smirk and a wink, the brunette took off at a slow jog in the direction Sam had come from. He watched Steve stare at the retreating man for a minute before letting out a low whistle. 

“Damn, Steve. I didn’t know you had game. Is this why you keep rejecting the dates Nat keeps setting you up on? You could have told us you already had a man.” Steve flushed bright red at his words.

“Bucky’s just my neighbor, Sam. He’s not… we’re not,  _ together _ . He was just inviting me over to play video games with him is all. Besides, I think he’s got a girl. There’s a woman who stops by nearly every day so…” He shrugs, his blush dying down, leaving behind the look of a kicked puppy. Sam cursed mentally, there goes him encouraging Steve to go for it. The man was either trying to cheat on his girlfriend, or in a poly relationship, and that wasn’t Steve’s style from how he was acting.

“Alright man, we’ll find you a date when we get back, but for now, we gotta go suit up for the Keys.”

+++

Bucky jolted at the sound of a knock on his door. He’d clearly fallen asleep as soon as he’d clocked off the night before, not even moving to his bed after. He didn’t bother with a shirt as he made his way to the front door, and he was glad he hadn’t since a quick glance through the peephole revealed that the person standing outside his door was Steve. He shifted his sweats to ride a bit lower on his hips to show off more of his Adonis belt before moving to open the door.

“Hey Steve, what can I do ya for?” he leaned against the door frame, watching the blush that rose from the blond’s collar as he got a good look at what Bucky was wearing. Well, what he wasn’t wearing.

“Um, this was delivered to me?” Steve tried to clear his suddenly dry throat, it wasn’t working. “It’s uh… it’s got your name on it?” he held out a bright purple box towards his neighbor. Bucky leaned forward into Steve’s space, taking a glance at the label on top of it. Sure enough, it read  _ Bucky Barnes. _

“Oh, I’ve been waiting for that to come in.” Bucky grinned, stepping further into Steve’s space and grasping his bicep briefly before trailing his fingers along his arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. Rather than grabbing for the sides, he reached his arm across the box, hand brushing against Steve’s abdomen as he grasped the edges. “Thank you for bringing it over,” he smirked, watching as the blonde’s cheeks darkened with a blush at every touch. “I need it for work, and I don’t know what I’d have done without it.”

“O-oh, it’s uh, no problem? I mean, you’d have done the same? Right?” Bucky’s smile became a bit more genuine as he watched Steve stumble in his nervousness, who’d have thought the man would be so damned adorable. And wasn’t that just the crux of it? If he hadn’t been so sweet, or so endearing Bucky would have had no qualms about a one and done with the good captain. At this point it wasn’t just about being attracted to each other physically -- of that, they had in spades if Steve’s lack of ability to speak whenever he was around was any indication -- anything between them ran the chance of Bucky falling for him. Then where would he be? He’d probably have to quit his job, he didn’t think Captain America would be too happy about having a boyfriend who had Phone sex with strangers and moonlighted as a cam boy. And he definitely wasn’t going to get rid of his income source for something like a fling.

“Well thank you, Steve.” he could feel his smile beginning to strain as he took a step back. “I’ve actually gotta go back to work now…. I’ll talk to you later?”

“Yeah, have a good day, sorry for interrupting you, Bucky.”

“Goodbye, Steve.” He felt a bit bad watching Steve begin his way back down the hallway, shoulders hunched similarly to how they’d been when they’d first met three months prior. He shouldn’t feel bad, he had no obligation to Steve.

+++

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Loud whoops and cheers filled his apartment as he came in from his evening walk. He’d been planning to have a nice quiet birthday dinner from one of the fusion places nearby that delivered. It seemed, however, that his friends and teammates had other ideas. He was a bit startled. He’d only been gone half an hour, and his apartment looked like an entirely new place. A large banner hung across his living room windows, he could see food and gifts piled high atop his dining table. Red, white, and blue streamers twisted and taped in random intervals across his ceiling, creating a chandeliered look. 

His hands itched to draw the scene, of the smiles and laughter his friends were filling his home with. Perhaps he would after everyone had gone home, he’d sit down for the first time in seventy-three years and paint the scene that enveloped him now. He looked around at everyone, committing it to memory. Perhaps a  triptych could do the scene justice, panels that could sit on the empty spaces of white drywall between the windows.

“Hey there Steve-o,” Tony popped up beside him, jarring him from thoughts of future plans with a careless arm thrown over his shoulders. “Ya like? Pepper planned it all, but the streamers were my idea.”

“Yes, thank you so much. You’re an amazing friend Tony.” Steve shifted like he was moving in for a hug and Tony backed away so quickly he’d knocked directly into Logan. He laughed loudly at the terrified look that washed over Tony’s face.

“ _ Asshole. _ ” Tony hissed at him as he passed by him on his way to look for Pepper most likely. Their friendship was complicated, truly it was. 

“Hey Steve.” Sam said as he sidled up to stand near him, holding two bottles of beer. “Happy birthday, got any big plans Mr. 98?” he joked, passing one of the bottles over before taking a long swig of the other.

“Not really,” he replied, taking a drink of his own. “Maybe I’ll finally use the easel for more than decoration.” He said, laughing at himself. 

“Seriously man, you’re retired now, there's plenty of things you can do.” Steve shyed back a bit at the stern expression on Sam’s face.

Ready to respond with the excuse that he wasn’t  _ really  _ retired, there was a knock on the front door. “I’d better get that.”

“This conversation isn’t over Rogers, I know where you live man.” Sam said as Steve walked to the door. He grinned wide in response.

“Sure it is! See this is it ending.” He yelled back over the noise as he opened the front door. 

“Hey Steve, happy birthday.” Bucky stood in his doorway holding out a small gift bag. “Uh your friends invited me, but I’ve got to work. I figured I’d at least stop in and give you this though.” Bucky shifted his weight, still holding out the gift bag.

“Oh, thank you. You really didn’t have to.” Steve replied awkwardly, reaching out slowly to take the gift. They hadn’t spoken much in the few weeks that had passed since Steve had brought him back his package. He wasn’t quite sure what to say, before that conversation it had seemed like they’d been flirting. But this awkward and stilted conversation made him now wonder if he’d been reading the situation entirely wrong. “Would you like to come in for a moment?” he offered, moving to the side so that he could gesture inside at the group of people standing around chatting with one another.

“Nah, I’ve got to get to work, there aren’t many of us on shift tonight, considering the holiday and all.” Bucky shook his head at the offer. “Have fun, and happy birthday again.” He turned and walked back to his own apartment, the door slamming closed behind him as he entered.

+++

Hours after everyone had finally gone, Steve sunk into the soft cushions of his couch and glanced towards the pile of gifts and cards that still lay on and around his dining table. It was only midnight, but he felt drained from the day and the party. Large gatherings of people did that to him. Had it only been his teammates and close friends he might have had much more energy to deal with putting away the things that people had brought him.

He sighed heavily before pushing himself up off the couch. He might as well get it done now rather than later. He grabbed his notebook from the side table before making his way into the dining room to catalogue what he’d gotten from who, making a mental note to pick up some stationary on his next trip to the grocery to write out the thank you notes.

Many of his friends had gotten him things to help him further catch up to pop culture, or had gotten him something that he’d expressed interest in. Like the Lord of the Rings trilogy that Natasha had gifted him, or the several vinyl albums from Sam. He chuckled when he opened the gift bag from Jane and Thor, in it was a large bottle of what he assumed to be Asgardian Mead. From Darcy he’d received a large mug, and tee-shirt proclaiming him to be ‘ _ #1 Grandpa _ ’. He got to a large gaudily wrapped red and gold gift, that despite the tag reading it from both Tony and Pepper, the box of high end oil paints and charcoal inside told him that Pepper had chosen it. The card within seemed to be from Tony alone, however, if the smudge of oil in the corner said anything. 

He huffed a laugh at the little shield sticker that held the flap secure, shaking his head as he ran a nail under the edge of it, taking care not to tear the envelope.  Inside there was a thin sheet of paper, similar to the lined sheets that were in his notebooks. Inexplicably, Tony had only written the words ‘ _ Call for a Good Time _ ’ and a 1-800 number. Was he meant to actually call the number? He set it aside momentarily, folding the bag neatly to the side to store for future use. 

The number looked a lot like the ones he called for help when his computer was doing something odd, so he figured it probably wouldn’t hurt for him to call it, at the very least he’d get a voicemail or something. He reached in his jeans pocket, pinching the end of his phone case to tug the phone out. It was the work of a moment to dial the number into is phone, pressing it to his ear as an automated voice immediately started through a list of categories. He’d already missed the lines introduction, he might as well listen to the recording to find out what he’d called. 

“ _ For men seeking men press four…” _ What? What kind of number did he call? Pressing a random number lead him to the same robotic voice asking for his credit card information, he hung up and resolved to just google the phone number.

The immediate results were all about phone sex lines, surprised he tossed his phone at the couch, watching as it skidded across the cushion and fell onto the hardwood.  _ What the fuck? _ He thought, staring at where his phone had landed, trying to will away the heat he felt on his face. Why would Tony give him the number for a Phone sex line? As a joke? He resolved to just ignore it. After all, Tony would probably pester him for a while, but he could pretend he’d just never seen the number.

Against his better judgement, he clicked the link at the top of the page, glancing up at the glass windows that practically over took the far wall of his apartment. He shouldn’t even be looking at this sort of stuff. First off, Tony would never let him hear the end of it if these sites did something weird to his laptop like Clint had complained about that one time. And while he’d gotten pretty good at using the thing, he wasn’t sure he could fix it if something did happen.

Before he could look back at his screen, he saw movement outside of his windows. Bucky. Shit. He slammed his laptop shut as soon as he made out the familiar figure of his neighbor, not wanting the other man to see the screen, even if it was pointed at the wall away from where the man could possibly see it.

Yeah, he’d just ignore the number as though he’d never seen it. Stark would never be the wiser.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no Idea how Daddy kink works, y'all can blame 3 people who all insisted at one point or another that it was necessary. (I also don't know anything about phone sex lines/operators....)

The last week had been hell. Absolute fucking hell. Not only had there been a major heat wave, but in said heat wave his hot as sin neighbor had decided to cool himself by sitting mostly naked on the fire escape that connected their apartments. Well, he wasn’t actually naked, but those shorts he wore did little to nothing to hide the way sweat dripped down his back and chest. Nor did it hide the stretch and shift of lean muscles beneath pale skin as the brunet basked in the summer sun. 

It didn’t help that sometimes the man would catch Steve staring at him, and all he’d do was smirk and give a half wave before closing his eyes and resuming his sunning like some overly large house cat. Needless to say his neighbor was driving him absolutely crazy. Sometimes it seemed like the other man was returning his flirtations, but others all flirting was shut down. The mixed signals were messing with him just as bad as the heat was. 

He stripped off his clothes as he made his way to his bedroom, he’d just have to deal with his frustrations himself, it’s not like he didn’t know how. Just sometimes having a partner would have been nice, a little less lonely. He was down to just his boxers by the time he got to his bedroom, snatching his laptop from the little dresser he kept next to his closet, he moved to situate himself on the desk chair next to his bed. 

Making sure the piece of paper covering the camera at the top of his screen was secure he pressed the button to turn on his laptop, immediately revealing the site he’d last been on. The site from the phone number Tony had given him apparently. The screen boasted several photos each with a little green dot next to them that proclaimed them as “available to chat”. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he called the number. It wouldn’t be a partner here with him, but he could certainly pretend like there was someone out there who saw him as more than the shield. Even now months after he’d retired, that's all people saw in him. 

He looked at the photos, and read the instructions on how to call a specific model. He entered in the information that on his card and followed the directions. It was novel, the photos of men mixed in with photos of women, links at the top of the screen that took him to images of different models. The website even listed an outline of pay structure and things like health benefits where they recruited new workers. Sex workers weren’t new to him. The area he and his ma had lived in growing up hadn’t been the ‘nicest’ area by society's standards. He could remember Widow O’Riley passing him on the stairs each morning, a soft upturn to her brightly painted lips when he greeted her. 

Shaking his head he picked one of the models on screen at random, making sure to choose one that was just a photo of a broad-shouldered bare-chested men. If he was going to pretend the man on the other line was Bucky, well, that was his business. Dialing the number on the models profile, he spent the first few moment’s entering his card information into the phone before finally a man picked up. 

“Hello, Thank you for calling LUST. My name’s James, you got a name Handsome?” The voice on the other end was deep, and the consonants stretched with a Brooklyn accent that was oh so familiar. 

“Uh...I… I’ve never called one of these? I’m not sure how to start…” ‘Clearly this was a great idea.’ Steve thought sarcastically, cringing at how awkward he’d sounded. 

“Well Handsome, let's start with your name. Or perhaps I could call you Sir? Daddy?” Steve’s breath hitched at the last one, James’ voice sounding so much like home, and somehow guessing a kink of his with only a few words between them? He shook his head, he’d seen the Internet jokes about calling men ‘Daddy’, it had probably just been a lucky guess. 

“Grant, My name is Grant.” he said quickly. Making a face at his stupidity, his middle name? Seriously? He might as well have just given him his first name, after all it was more common than fucking Grant. 

“Well then Daddy Grant, I’ve not been a very good boy. I just can’t seem to keep my hands out of my pants whenever I think about you.” That snapped Steve’s attention back to the man on the phone. His eyes widening at the fact that he’d apparently not missed the hitch in his breath. 

“Are your hands in your pants now Baby?” he responded, sliding his hand down his neck to his chest. A whine came through the phone’s speaker. 

“Yes Daddy, I can’t help it.” 

“He clicked his tongue in mock disappointment at the other man as his hand slid over a nipple, flicking it lightly before continuing it’s journey lower. James’ deep moan on the other end of the line sent chills down Steve’s arms and spine. His dick had already been hard when he’d begun the call, yet he could feel himself hardening further. 

“Are you imagining me, there, with you right now, Baby Boy?” He said, his own voice becoming deeper with arousal. “Thinking about my mouth on yours, moving down to your neck, Kissing and biting you in trails down over your shoulder. Marking you as mine?” He asked stroking lightly over his still clothed erection. 

“Yes… Please, Daddy, please mark me.” The man on the other end of the line moaned loudly. His voice had an airy note to it like he was panting. 

“Are you touching yourself right now? and thinking about it? My arms wrapped around you, pulling you tight against me. About my fingers running over your skin, drawing on your stomach, teasing your nipples until they’re just as hard for me as your dick?” he questioned, pulling his boxers just far enough down his thighs to tuck the band under his balls. He ran his thumb through the precome that had gathered at the tip of his dick. Smearing it around the head before stroking himself, groaning at the feeling of his foreskin shifting over even more sensitive skin. “My breath on them as I take one in my mouth. Licking, sucking, biting, rolling it gently between my teeth. All the while my hand is moving further and further down and running over your thigh and between your legs…” 

“Please, please quit teasing me.” James sighed over the phone. 

“No, Baby, I'm not teasing. Oh but, if I was there, I would. I'd kiss every inch of you. I'd love to taste your cock right now. I want to run my tongue over the tip, tease you with soft little circles, tasting your pre-come.” 

“Please, can I come? I’m so so close.” 

“Ah, ah. Not yet Baby, I’m not done yet. Maybe, eventually I’d slide a finger inside you when you’re finally begging for it, and I mean really begging for it.” The moans got louder on the other end of the line, pants now audible. He smirked, “I'd keep fingering you nice and good, adding more and more fingers, getting you ready to take my cock while I suck you down. Might hafta hold you down baby, keep you from choking me as you try to fuck my throat.” 

“Please Daddy, fuck me, I want it so bad. Please.” James whined, his voice pitching higher with every word. 

“Oh? You’re gonna have to work for it. You’ve gotta climb up into my lap and ride me like a good boy. I like it when you ride me, I love looking up at you bouncing on my dick, the look on your face when you start to cum, absolute fucking heaven.” Steves' hips stuttered as he began to feel his orgasm building at the base of his gut. 

“God I wish you were here. I think I'm going to cum just thinking about it. Fuck Baby, I love hearing you moan like that...I bet you wish those fingers were mine.” He groaned and let his head fall back at the sound of heaving breaths and small shuddering moans that drifted through the phone. The sounds of his partners pleasure bringing him closer and closer to the edge. Eyes shut tight, he clenched his left fist and slammed it back into the wall behind him in an attempt to stave off his orgasm. 

“What the fuck?” he heard through the wall. The abrupt sound jolting him from his pleasure, his shoulder shifting from where it held the phone to his ear as he realized the crumbling drywall in his hand had created a fist-sized hole in the wall between his apartment and Bucky’s. 

“Fuck. fuck. Shit. Mother fucker.” Steve cursed, struggling to pull his boxers up around his waist and scrabbling to find his pants before his neighbor came to investigate. He bent and grabbed at the phone where it’d fallen to the floor. 

“Grant? Grant?” he heard the name he’d given James being repeated. 

“Sorry, sorry. I uh have to go.” 

“That’s fine. I uh have to go to, my neighbor just punched an actual hole through the joining wall so… I better go make sure he’s okay.” There was laughter in James’ voice as he said it, but Steve’s head was spinning. What were the chances that James sounded like Bucky and his neighbor punched a hole in their joining wall at the exact moment Steve had. 

“Wow I wonder how he caused that much damage, that’d take quite a swing. I hope he’s okay.” Steve said, masking his suspicion with a joking tone. 

“He’s a superhero, I’m sure he’s fine. Bye Grant, I hope you call me again soon Daddy.” With that, the phone clicked, and despite Steve’s suspicions, he felt his still hard cock twitch in his slacks. 

Not even two minutes later there was a knock at the door and Bucky’s voice calling him from the hallway. He moved the few feet to the door, shifting as he opened it so that his lower body was angled away, hiding the still persistent erection. Your hot as fuck neighbor might know all of your fantasies now, why won't you just fucking go down already. He thought as he tried to will it away, as if he wasn’t already mortified as it was. 

“Steve! Are you alright?” Bucky looked concerned, nothing giving away that he might have been James. That he might be the man Steve had been having phone sex with for the last four months. No way. Steve must be going crazy. 

“Yeah. I’m sorry to have disturbed you on your day off, Buck. I can pay to have it fixed.” 

“Oh no, don’t be sorry. I mean I was on the phone with a client, but he understood my needing to be sure you were okay.” Steve’s suspicions rose once again. But no, Bucky was a writer, wasn’t he? That's what he said he did…. 

“That’s even worse, I’m so sorry. Perhaps I could call him and apologize to him for inconveniencing you both.” Bucky blushed lightly and shifted his weight. 

“Ah, it’s uh, no problem. Like I said, he understood. What were you doing anyway?” This time, it was Steves turn to blush. 

“Nothing, I ah, tripped.” Bucky laughed, the sound echoing in the space between them. Steve could listen to it all the time. “Wouldyouliketogoouttodinner?” he rushed through the words, almost as if it burned his tongue to keep them from spilling forth any longer. Even if Bucky wasn’t James, James had been encouraging him for weeks to ask Bucky out. 

Bucky’s laughter died out, the sound of hit still hung in the air around them. “What?” 

“Would you like to go out to dinner? With me? Uh, on a date?” He stumbled through once more, voice becoming quieter with every word. 

“I really, really want to say yes, Steve,” 

“I mean, it’s okay if you don’t. Your choice, I ah…” Steve began to quickly retrace his steps. 

“Steve, Wait. First we have to talk, then you can decide if you really want that date. Can I come in?” Bucky interrupted. Steve quickly moved back, letting the door fall open wider, inviting the other man in. 

“Can I get you anything to drink?” Steve asked nervously as Bucky sat on his couch. 

“No thanks. You gonna sit down?” Steve immediately moved to sit on the opposite end of his couch from Bucky. 

“My job has broken a lot of my relationships. Main-” 

“But you’re a writer, why would that break up your relationships? I’ve read a few of your books, those aren’t something that would ruin a relationship?” Steve interjected, cutting Bucky off with his questions. 

“I am a writer. But I also work in the sex industry, I’m a phone sex operator. I uh, I’m not sure if that was a thing in the 30’s and 40’s?” Bucky paused, thinking about his words for a moment. “At the least, gay phone sex probably wasn’t,” he twisted his hands, betraying how nervous he was, despite how confident his words were. “I won’t give it up, I like what I do, and sometimes I can help people. They don’t all call just for sex.” Bucky said, thinking back on how some of his more frequent and regular customers liked to talk after they orgasmed. He was an outsider, someone they could talk to without fear of judgement. He thought of Grant, and how lonely the man had been when he first began calling. He couldn’t imagine leaving Grant to return to his loneliness. 

Bucky glanced up at Steve from where he’d been staring at his hands. The blond was frowning, his eyebrows pulled together. 

“Is this a joke? How long have you known?” Steve asked, his voice wavering as he realized this meant Bucky was probably only in the complex to watch him. 

“What? What are you talking about, Steve?” 

“I should have known. How convenient it is just to park someone in the apartment next door. I thought they’d be too stretched thin after everything to bother with that any fucking more.” Steve sounded angry now, and it made no sense. Bucky was trying to explain why he was turning Steve down, what the hell was this even about now? 

“The hell are you talking about Steve?” the brunet asked, trying to keep his own frustration from his voice. 

“The phone sex operator I’ve been talking to, how the fuck did you, SHIELD, even know huh? No one knew about that burner, or the card? It’s not even linked to anything?” 

“What? You’ve been calling a sex line? What?” 

“You shouldn’t play dumb, Bucky. Or is it James? Or something else entirely?” Steve stood and began pacing in small circuits, his movements tight with tension. Bucky gaped at the blond. What a fucking bombshell to drop. And how the hell did Steve know that his name was James, he’d never told Steve. Hell, even his mail came in for Bucky, there was no way. Unless he was a customer. He only had one customer with a Brooklyn accent. 

“Grant?” Bucky stared wide-eyed as the name spilled forth in surprise, watching as Steve turned to face him. 

“You didn’t know?” he asked, examining the genuine surprise on Bucky’s face. Dropping down to sit on the coffee table as shocked laughter bubbled up from his chest. “Oh lord, you didn’t even know. You really didn’t?” He bent forward, clutching at his ribs with the force of his laughter as Bucky shook his head. 

Still wide-eyed, Bucky began laughing as well. “We’ve been having phone sex for months. And neither of us realized.” Bucky hiccupped as he wiped away the tears that had begun to build in the corners of his eyes. “Oh my god, am I the one I’ve been telling you to just ask out already?” 

Still laughing, Steve nodded and asked once more, this time with much more confidence than his previous attempts. “So, Do you want to go to dinner sometime?” 

“About fucking time.” Bucky responded, before leaning forward, pausing briefly to telegraph his intentions. When Steve didn’t move away, he leaned further in and brushed a light kiss against Steves mouth. “Okay. We can do that.” 

  


**Author's Note:**

> I'll post part 2 as soon as I finish typing it. My cat had kittens and I have been on heavy medication for migraines so I haven't finished the edits.
> 
> Enjoy!


End file.
